Roll-type toboggan



Dec. 16, 1969 E. A. CARLIN ROLL-TYPE TOBOGGAN Filed March 8. 1968' FIG. 1

I NYENTOR. EUN/CfiA-CA nulv ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,484,801 ROLL-TYPE TOBOGGAN Eunice A. Carlin, 5301 Hollywood Road, Edina, Minn. 55436 Filed Mar. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 711,554 Int. Cl. B62b 15/00, 17/00 US. Cl. 280-18 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A toboggan formed of a flat sheet of resilient material, such as polyethylene or other plastic, having a thickness and other characteristics such that the sheet tends to remain extended in the transverse direction with no additional support means and tends to roll or is easily formed into a roll about a transverse axis.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention For tobogganing or sliding down hill it is often inconvenient to carry a heavy toboggan or sled to the sliding area, up the hill after each slide and away from the area after the sliding is completed. In addition to being extremely inconvenient to use, sleds and toboggans are extremely cumbersome vehicles and are extremely difiicult to store when not in use. Also, there is a certain amount of maintenance required and the initial cost is extremely high.

Description of the prior art In the prior art a roll-up type toboggan is described wherein an extremely thin (.030 inch plus or minus about .005 inch) sheet of flexible, supple material such as polyethylene is utilized. This material is unsatisfactory because it is relatively limp and easily conforms to the contours of the ground and, therefore, requires additional support means along at least the front edge thereof. Also, during operation a rider on this prior art sled will be buffeted by each and every lump or bump in his path, therefore, making the ride extremely uncomfortable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains to a roll-type toboggan including a sheet of smooth flexible material being sufficiently resilient to allow the rolling thereof about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis and formed from a material having predetermined characteristics and sufficient thickness to substantially prevent rolling thereof about an axis parallel with the longitudinal axis when the front portion thereof is rolled into an upward curving position during usage.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved roll-type toboggan.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a roll-type toboggan formed from material having predetermined characteristics and sufficient thickness to substantially prevent rolling or deformation thereof about an axis parallel with the longitudinal axis when the front portion thereof is rolled into an upward curving position.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a roll-type toboggan formed from material having predetermined characteristics and sufficient thickness such that the sheet has a bias therein producing a torque urging said sheet to roll about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the are upon consideration of the accompanying specification, claims, and drawings.

3,484,801 Patented Dec. 16, 1969 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the figures:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the present invention lying in a flat position;

FIGURE 2 is view in perspective of the present invention in an operative position;

FIGURE 3 is a view in side elevation of the present invention in the position illustrated in FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a view of the present invention in the rolled or storage position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the figures the numeral 10 generally designates a sheet or smooth flexible material having a generally rectangular shape with one end forming a front end 11 and the opposite end being the rear end designated 12. The front end 11 of the sheet 10 has rounded corners 13 to reduce the possibility of catching on foreign objects and injury of the operator thereon. The sheet 10 is formed of some resilient flexible material, such as polyethylene or any of the other flexible plastics well known in the art, and has a thickness such that in combination with the qualities of the material (such as flexibility, hardness, resiliency, etc.) the sheet 10 can be formed into a roll but very little tran-svere deformation will occur once the front end 11 is turned arcuately upwardly, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

To illustrate the above specified requirements, if the sheet 10 is formed of polyethylene material the thickness thereof should be approximately one-eighth inch or more. The characteristics of polyethylene material are such that if the material is formed into a sheet which is too thin the sheet will have a tendency to be soft and relatively limp. Whereas, if the sheet is formed of sufficient thickness it is relatively stiff and the upward curvature of the front end 11 will reinforce the front sufficiently so that no additional material or parts are required.

The particular characteristics of the material and the thickness thereof are also chosen so that the sheet 10 has at least a slight bias retained therein which bias produces a torque urging the sheet to roll about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof. Thus, whenever the operator or other load is removed from the sheet 10 there is a tendency for the sheet 10 to form into a roll automatically. Also during operation the rear end 12 has a tendency to turn slightly upwardly, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, thereby reducing the drag on the lower surface of the toboggan. This tendency to form a roll when the operator leaves the toboggan also reduces the possibility of the toboggan continuing down the hill once the opera tor is removed therefrom.

An aperture 15 is provided adjacent the front end 11 at approximately the transverse center of the sheet 10 and said aperture 15 forms a grip for the operator. When an operator is utilizing the toboggan a hand is placed in the aperture 15, thereby holding the front end 11 in an upwardly curved position, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, and furnishing a means for the operator to maintain his balance on the toboggan. Because of the characteristics and thickness of the sheet 10, when the front end 11 is curved upwardly there will be little or no deformation of the sheet 10 about the longitudinal axis thereof during usage. Thus, the toboggan will operate in a fashion essentially similar to prior art wooden toboggans with the the toboggan transmitting little or none of the surface roughness therethrough to the operator.

A belt 16 is provided to encircle the sheet 10 in the rolled position and maintain it in this position during storage or periods of nonuse. The belt 16 has a neckdown portion 17 adjacent one end and a mating slot 18 adjacent the other end thereof. To fix the belt 16 about the sheet 10 the end having the neck-down portion 17 therein is turned so as to coincide with the slot 18 in the opposite end and inserted through the slot 18. With the belt 16 encircling the rolled sheet 10 and the end adjacent the neck-down portion 17 inserted through the slot 18 the end is turned so as to lie in the same direction as the remainder of the belt and the neck-down portion 17 is engaged in the slot 18. Thus, the belt 16 maintains the sheet 10 in the rolled position.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of this invention, further modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art. I desire it to be understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular form shown and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A roll-type toboggan comprising a rectangular sheet of flexible material having lateral and longitudinal axes,

said sheet having an initial bias tending to urge the sheet to wind about the lateral axis to form a rolland to form curved sections at the ends of the longitudinal axis, said sheet being of sufiicient thickness to provide a structural shape having great resistance to deformation about the longitudinal axis when one of the curved sections is raised to form a bight portion said one of the curved sections is formed with an arcuate edge and a hand receiving aperture adjacent said edge.

2. A toboggan as defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible material is polyethylene having a thickness of not less than about one-eighth inch.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,927,799 3/1960 Schnitzler 280l8 3,034,800 5/1962 Campbell 280l8 3,140,878 7/1964 Davis 280-48 LEO FRAGLIA, Primary Examiner J. E. SIEGEL, Assistant Examiner 

